Two couples in our Final Fantasy 14 social circle have scheduled weddings this week. I admit that I'm pretty excited to see them, even though I seemingly don't get too excited about the idea of weddings when it comes to them happening in real life for the most part. ^^; Maybe it's because at least for FF14's wedding, I'm not a stranger amongst strangers?

Anyhow, I admit that other than being curious about FF14's weddings because of the really nice music and the cinematic they have that star the wedded couple; I didn't expect very much, but upon one of our couples going through the process and hearing about the experience, I'm impressed and happy to see the creators really trying to make the event a special occasion. =)

My initial expectations of an MMO wedding is a simple quest that probably involves rings, then a five minute or less formal in-game ceremony with the wedded couple walking down an aisle. In FF14 however, the couple is made to go on a twelve-part or more quest that takes them around the world to different scenic locations. =) It can probably be finished in ninety-ish minutes if rushed and if the couple teleported from site to site, but would you really want to do that on such a momentous occasion? XD You're even given a special emote to "embrace" each other. =3

At the end of the experience, it was described to me that it felt like the creators kept in mind the idea that couples might have met and fallen in love in-game; it felt like the dialogue was meant for them, making it that much more meaningful. =) The idea of the creators having that in mind when designing that aspect of the game makes me really excited! XD I mean- I'll never know for sure, but considering that Yoshi-P is an MMO veteran, it makes sense! It's not unknown for people to meet their spouse/real-life-love in-game. =) Thinking of it from a developer's stand point also sounds amazing! >.< -The idea that the craft you made allowed numerous couples to meet, fall in love, and even get married- to have something you did change the lives of so many people in such a prominent (and hopefully positive) way! =D It's the idea that a game isn't always just "a game." I love the idea of people learning and understanding that though we are all playing with avatars and engaging systems in a fantasy world, we are still all real people interacting with other real people! We may even be more true to ourselves in-game than out of game. ^^

A friend of a friend ended up joining the game and is skipping through all the story scenes because he "doesn't really care for stories in MMOs" even though he's a big, old school, Final Fantasy fan! >.< Sure, he's his own person so he can do what he wants, but it's kinda frustrating that he doesn't care to even try to check it out because it's definitely something that FF14 does that's unique from all other MMO's I've played! >.< It's almost like refusing to decide on what talents to invest on in Borderlands 2 because it's a "shooter game." I, myself, wasn't expecting too much from the story at first other than it simply being interesting, but there were a couple of moments that I found surprisingly touching. '_'

The way the story is presented is neat because unlike other MMO stories, it's not just all about your character. Sure, they're the hero and play a major part of the story, but the other re-occurring characters have their moments too, which I think is also important. The character's supporting cast, the side elements accentuate the hero's journey and makes the world and its events that much more alive and meaningful; even a little bit can help a lot.

The simple fact of your character interacting so much with the other characters and events with changing expressions adds so much life to the game! I was originally really unsure about my character's looks when designing her in the character creation screen, but seeing her step off the boat and being in awe of her first time in the big city really caught me; she really seemed to have come to life at that moment. I was excited to play her. Though a silent protagonist, through her reactions, it feels like there's more to her than being just a simple vessel. When I first started playing FF14, I was expecting to remake her eventually, but it's become a lot harder now that I've gotten so far in the journey because I've become attached. If I changed her look, then It's almost like she's not the same person who went through the earlier part of the journey; the drama, the victories, etc. >.< I think though that if I do end up remaking her visually, her spirit will be carried over though her eye mask face paint. XD;;; -not that it's still not hard. >.<